"Avatar," "Hangover" take home top Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - A pair of box office sensations, "Avatar" and "The Hangover," earned top film honors at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday in a ceremony that took on a somber tone after the recent earthquake in Haiti.

Action adventure "Avatar," whose 3-D effects have wowed critics and fans and helped it earn $1.6 billion at global box offices, claimed best film drama and top director for "Titanic" filmmaker James Cameron.

"3D is going to be the future," Cameron told reporters backstage. "The one thing 'Avatar' could do because of its success -- especially its critical success -- is give permission to other filmmakers to think of 3D."

Among actors, Sandra Bullock earned the title of best film actress in a drama for football movie "The Blind Side," while industry veteran Jeff Bridges was best dramatic actor for his turn as a down-and-out country singer in "Crazy Heart."

"The Hangover," about guys on a trip to Las Vegas that goes woefully wrong ($277 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices), claimed best film comedy. It showed that after recent years of favoring art house films like last year's big winner "Slumdog Millionaire," Golden Globe voters at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) liked crowd pleasers of 2009.

"It is such a wonderful trip this film, we just set out to make a funny comedy," director Todd Phillips told reporters.

Robert Downey, Jr. won the Golden Globe for best comedy actor for his turn as super sleuth Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock Holmes," and Meryl Streep was the top actress in a comedy for cooking film "Julie & Julia."

Germany's "The White Ribbon," a major success at the 2009 Cannes film festival, was named best foreign language movie.
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